Tried to bite my tongue - but I can't!

31^st January 2013

 

The meaning of life is to live life. Jon Blais

 

Last day of January, wow it’ll be Christmas again before we know it!  It’s weigh day for me again, don’t they roll round I’m hoping for my pound off, it’ll be my third consecutive week if I get it and I’ll be thrilled.  Not because I’ve lost a pound (heck losing weight is something I’ve got down to a fine art when it suits me) but because it’ll mean I’m finding a balance between indulgence and healthy eating and that is my ultimate goal.  This week I’ve had a bit of what I fancy, I’ve sat less to earn those ProPoints on my pedometer (9 yesterday) and I’ve tried to make mealtimes good healthy food when possible.  Oh and most importantly, I’ve enjoyed every mouthful of food I’ve eaten apart from the fish and chips Tuesday night but when I’ve stopped enjoying – I’ve stopped eating!  When I’ve felt full – I’ve stopped eating!  And if I’ve stopped paying attention – I’ve stopped eating!

 

I nipped to Sainsbury’s yesterday, I had planned not to shop this week but I caved, I needed onions and ended up with a half price leg of lamb (£10) for Sunday dinner (you can’t not take up a bargain like that!  I also looked at the frozen fish because anything had to taste better than Tuesday’s £5.05 effort at the chippy.  They had offers on the Young’s fish they looked like this;

(battered or breadcrumbs 7pp each)

(battered or breadcrumbs 6pp each - 50p each bargain)

 (battered or breadcrumbs 9pp each)

 

I personally prefer breadcrumbs to batter so I’ve had me some of the 6pp ones, with 200g of actrifry chips (9pp), I’ll have a fish and chip supper for 15pp a third of that portion from the chippy!

 

I haven’t mentioned the Dispatches programme that was on earlier this week because I don’t think it deserves mentioning, Very poorly researched and completely untrue in some areas. It was a far cry from intelligent, balanced, investigative journalism that’s for sure!  In it however they made a comparison of 100g of WW bread at 7pps and 100g of Hovis at 6pps. Guess which one is which;

For a number of us with a weight problem - we're all about the quantity! We eat with our eyes! 

 

I don’t very often buy Weight Watcher products because I don’t need to, I’m happy to use my calculator to ProPoint foods (some people like the convenience of having it already done for them) as I did with the fish in Sainsbury’s, it’s not difficult and it keeps me healthy.  Just like someone with an illness who takes medication has no qualms about taking it to stay alive, I have no qualms tracking and ProPointing because it helps to keep me healthy and alive!  Thanks to Weight Watchers I have a very healthy balanced approach to my eating habits these days, I don’t deny myself anything, I don’t do guilt when I overindulge but I do see it’s important to take care of my body and find a balance because I matter and I’m important enough to want to bother!

 

I’ve loved the feedback and support we’ve received since it aired and one particular statement yesterday was brill, two members came in and said “did you watch that drivel about WW, I’ve just been talking to one of your old members in the street and she said, “Bev’s never told us to eat Weight Watcher food, I actually remember her saying once, Weight Watchers don’t have special superlean pigs running round in bikinis that they make their bacon and ham from.”  Yes that is one of my lines, they don’t have special pigs, they just weigh it out, ProPoint it and package it up so you don’t have to, and of course you pay for that privilege. 

 

You also pay for the meetings because it’s a business and I have to earn a living and I’m proud of that because I’m doing something I’m passionate about, I’m selling a product I believe it (when I worked for a lock company, a butchers and a greengrocers I didn’t always agree with what I say being sold!)  Millions of pounds are spent on research and training by Weight Watchers and it works, heck if you join at the moment, it’s free membership and a free meeting, we can’t really give you more than that.  Why do we let you have the first week free, because we know it works and we’re pretty confident you’ll come back the second week.  By giving you that first week, it means you can afford to spend a tenner on the calculator so that you can ProPoint anything and you don’t have to buy special foods.  I work a 50 hour week and that doesn’t include the time I spend on the phone to members, answering texts and emails or on facebook offering support to people I’ve never even met!  Yes I’m passionate about helping others feel as happy in themselves as I do now, if I was rich I’d still do it, and I wouldn’t be fussed about a wage, but I’m not so I have to earn a living.

 

Damn, I promised myself I wouldn’t go off on one and get off my soap box after watching that rubbish but obviously I just can’t help myself!  I’ve seen too much success to hold back I’m afraid and I think what’s impressed me the most is that those who haven’t succeeded YET have admitted it’s not Weight Watchers fault, it’s their own – I just love that people are taking ownership and hold themselves responsible for their own behaviour, that in itself is priceless.  I love that members who join these days don’t just say, “I wanna lose weight”, they are now saying, “I want to lose weight, make long term life changes, I want to enjoy the journey” Oh yeah that’s what I’m talking about, there are no quick fixes, it’s not a race anything worth having – is worth working for.

 

So here’s to yet another delicious day and to always Eating Gorgeous xx

 

 

61pp for a portion of fish & chips! weighing almost a Kilo! WHY!

30^th January 2013

 

To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.

I thought about them all night long whilst at my meeting, they were mentioned a few times throughout the day by members and my bestie had said she fancied them at the weekend but then changed her mind!  So after an emotionally charged day and hormones raging as I left my meeting I headed towards the chip shop for fish and chips.  My eye brows raised when he said, “that’ll be £5.05 please”, HOW MUCH!  I couldn’t wait to tear open the bag in the car park to get a taste but when I did they were awfully greasy, I thought maybe it was just that one, I’ll wait till I get home.  One putting them out on a plate, I weighed them first 600g of chips and 330g fish in batter!   The chips would have been 41pp and the fish I’m guestimating from using other examples to be about 20pp, it wouldn’t all go on one of my plates!  I think that says it all, mom didn’t want any and I was beginning to wish I hadn’t bought them too, so I had a few, ate a bit of the fish without the batter which was disgusting and left the rest, it was all so greasy I’m now cured, the fish was chewy, obviously from overcooking – I think I’m cured!  I’ve just weighed the leftover chips and theres still 470g so I only ate 130g, the eating out guide says a standard portion of chip shop chips is 210g for 14pp, so mine were 9pp and the fish well I only ate a small piece of the cod I couldn’t bring myself to eat the batter, not even for money!  What a waste of £5.05 but what a save of ProPoints worth every penny, I ended up devouring a Bounty instead for 7pp ;-)  Looking it all up online I have finally found Roe in Batter and it’s 8pp (160g) which is what I’ve always suggested, I’d rather have Roe without the batter (100g = 2pp) and I’ve just popped that on this weeks shopping list, together with Smoked haddock (150g = 4pp) which is delicious and hasn’t been consumed for a while!

 

I enjoyed my lunch yesterday though and it was only 10pp and a real easy meal to throw together, 60g spaghetti (6pp) and 1tbsp sweetcorn (1pp) cooked together, then warm through a tin of Batchelors low fat condensed chicken soup (4pp for the tin) stir half (2pp) of the can into the cooked pasta together with 30g (1pp) of wafer thin ham, delicious.

 

Apparently I have it on good authority that Sainsbury’s be good to yourself Chicken Jambalaya is quite nice for 10pp, I fancy having a go of making my own from scratch rather than the pre-packaged version and here’s recipe shared by Kellie that I will be adding to my meal plan over the coming week,

 http://theskinnypages.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/chicken-chorizo-jambalaya/

 

Chicken & Chorizo Jambalaya

 

Pro Points Per Serving: 11

You will also need to point your bread if you choose to have it!!

 

Serves: 5

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

 

3 Chicken Breasts

Low Fat Cooking Spray

1 Onion, Finely Chopped

1 Red Pepper, Finely Chopped

2 Large Garlic Cloves, Crushed

100g Chorizo, Diced

1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning

300g Long Grain Rice

400g Chopped Tomatoes

350ml Chicken Stock ( I use 1 Oxo Cube)

 

1.    Spray low fat cooking spray into a large pan with lid and allow to warm.

2.    Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, remove and set aside.

3.    Tip in the onion, pepper, garlic, chorizo and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes.

4.    Stir the chicken back in.

5.    Add the chopped tomatoes including all the juice and the chicken stock.

6.    Add the rice and stir. Put the lid on and simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally until the rice is tender.

7.    Serve!

 

Well I better get ready to do battle with the day ;-) it’s still dark out there so can’t see the weather, which is just bizarre at the moment isn’t it, last week in the minus and snow, last night driving home it was 13 degrees – what’s that all about – crazy weather.

 

Here’s to a delicious day and remember to always Eat Gorgeous xx

Is anyone reading this still suffering from 'Monday-itis'

29^th January 2013

All the flowers of tomorrow are the seeds of today.  Anonymous

As I’m not looking for fast weight loss, I’m allowing myself a little more flexibility and indulgence so yesterday for lunch we had a fish finger sandwich, I had mine on my crusty bread baguette, I took all the doughy bread middle from the crusty bit to lower the ProPoints because it’s only really the crusty crunch I enjoy it was delicious and I ended up leaving some of the crusty roll.

For tea I wasn’t hungry as such just fancied some cheese so I cut three small pieces from the cheese I’d bought yesterday and just ate them on their own, savouring the flavour – delicious.

Today the main thing on the menu will be eggs as we have a lot of them to work through and because I got a bit excitable with my shopping trip at the weekend, I now have a pretty house and an empty purse!  So it’ll be consuming cupboard/freezer food for the next few weeks and only buying essentials.  Good job I like food shopping because it means I already have quite a stash to go at.  I’m thinking boiled eggs and soldiers today; I haven’t had those for ages – nom nom.  You can’t beat simple foods and I’ll have 3 eggs for 5pp.

Okay so who suffers from 'Monday-itis'?  What you ask?!  You know it's Monday morning, you take a look in the mirror and you feel fat and frumpy. You decide 'that's it, today I am going on a diet!' and you mentally make a note of all the foods you will stop eating from today; all the foods that you can't have, shouldn't have and won't have because this time you are really serious!

So you start the day off with porridge or some other healthy breakfast, you have your piece of fruit for morning tea and a salad sarnie for lunch; by which time you are obsessing about a chocolate bar (the chocolate bar that you’ve told yourself you CAN'T HAVE!).

You sit eating your salad feeling deprived and unhappy that you are missing out on a chocolate bar, instead feeling like a deprived hungry person nibbling on your sarnie.

At some stage between then and the next 48 hours you start to feel miserable and/or angry that you are missing out; you are getting snappy and grumpy - What do you do? Of course, you overeat!

But you don't just eat one biscuit, you eat the whole packet or you go and buy that chocolate bar and the cream cake which just happens to be strategically placed next to it...and then...you feel really guilty, bad, naughty - you feel like a loser with no willpower; you eat more, you binge and say "stuff it", I'll start again on Monday!

Does this sound like you? Then you’re not listening to me!  I keep telling anyone who will listen both in my meetings, on my blog and on my Facebook page and group that you don’t have to do the deprivation diet and you sure as hell don’t have to do the guilt!  This ‘diet’ mentality sucks and it will never be successful long term.  You need to give yourself permission to continue to enjoy eating the foods you like.  Take a sensible long-term approach to weight loss that includes healthier eating and moving more.  

Losing weight steadily and enjoying the journey is way more fun than eating food you don’t really want to eat because it makes you thinner!  I rarely eat what’s termed as ‘diet’ food, I may grab the odd low fat thing but on the whole I eat good food, tasty and delicious food.  I’m just more aware of portion sizes and also of the true value of food.  I’ve learned to cook and how to make food taste how I like it to taste and a lot of this I’ve learned thanks to Weight Watchers, I tailored their plan to suit me and that’s the only way to make it successful.   Because weight loss is very personal, no two people are the same so why would their diets be the same, my mate can eat chocolate like you wouldn’t believe, I only have to have a bit and I feel a little sick, whereas you show me a KFC bucket and I’m on it, my mate will eat a piece and a few chips and stop! 

YOU are the expert in you!  Don’t let anyone TELL YOU how to eat/behave – make that decision for yourself, take all the information you can find then shift it and adapt it to suit your lifestyle and personality.

Most importantly remember, you are not alone; there are plenty of others in the same situation and there’s help and support available if you need it. All you have to do is seek and ask for it.

Even more importantly - if you don't have a weight problem, have never had a weight problem and are naturally thin - DON'T think you have any clue what it's like for someone who does because trust me YOU DON'T!  Keep your opinions to yourself!

On that note my luvlies, have a delicious day and remember to always Eat Gorgeous xx

 

Well I survived & enjoyed it ;-)

28^th January 2013

Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows. Michael Landon

Monday morning rolled around again, that was a quick weekend, yesterday was lovely though, I went with the ‘last day on earth’ idea and had what I fancied!  I’m so pleased to report I didn’t over eat even though I’d given myself permission to have anything I wanted!  I made home made burgers 20pp (I left some – about 5pp worth), they were delicious, that was our main mean, whilst in the shop I changed my mind about the doughnut and the cheese and onion crisps, I only bought small 46g bars of galaxy (7pp) and there’s still 2 pieces of mine left on the table!  I bought the St Agur cheese and crusty baguette but didn’t eat it (that’ll be lunch today).  I did have a bag of monster munch (4pp) and smoky bacon crisps (4pp) neither of which aren’t as good as I remember, a bounty (7pp) and a dime bar (4pp) though, very unusual for me to fancy chocolate but I really enjoyed it – I think it was because we talked so much about snacking last week in the meetings.  Oh and my bubble bath was gorgeous, then I spent the evening enjoying a glass or two of Red whilst watching American Pop Idol and Got to Dance whilst knitting, love getting older I do ;-)

So a grand total 62pp consumed, that’s all my weeklies gone now but I really enjoyed my day and I will be going back to a healthy diet today, although I shall be enjoying the St Agur and crusty bread for lunch, might nip and get a huge bag of salad to go with it though. 

I had a cholesterol test done for free at Sainsbury’s (Reedswood, Walsall) yesterday, she said they are there till February if anyone wants to go make an appointment.  My results were good, my total was well below 5 and my good cholesterol well above 1!  I believe I eat quite well on the whole but I will definitely look more at the fats and cholesterol especially for moms sake, WOW a 60g slice of Victoria sponge cake has 8g of bad fat and 4.7g of good fats as opposed to malt loaf & ProActiv spread has 0.6g bad fat and 2g good fat.  Even the healthy stuff can be surprising, Cereal & full fat milk 6.3g bad fats, 3.1g good fats whereas porridge has 0.6g bad fat and 1.4g good fat not a bad difference.  By switching from white toast & butter 5.3g bad fat, 2.7g good fat to brown toast and flora pro.active buttery 1.1g bad fat and 3g good fat!  It really is work reading the labels on food.

Oh and if you didn’t know or weren’t sure Cholesterol is a fatty substance found naturally in your body.  It plays a vital role in the day to day functioning of your body.  It is one of the key’s for keeping every cell running smoothly, and only becomes a problem when blood cholesterols are too high.  High density lipoprotein (HDL) is good cholesterol , it takes cholesterol away from your arteries to the liver to be broken down.  So a high level of HDL Cholesterol can be good for your heart health.  Low density lipoprotein (LDL) is bad cholesterol.  It takes cholesterol from your liver to your body tissues.  If your blood is high in bad cholesterol it can build up in the walls of your blood vessels.   So high levels of cholesterol can be caused by eating too much saturated fat, but there are several factors that influence your blood cholesterol level.

-          A family history of high cholesterol

-          Insufficient exercise

-          Getting older

-          Being overweight

Go get it checked it’s free, I’m even sure the doctor would do yours too if you asked.  And of course you can naturally help yourself by eating well and moving more – get your five a day, choose wholemeal or granary bread.  Cut down on sugar, watch your salt and limit your consumption of foods high in saturated fat (hard cheese, red meat, full fat dairy, biscuits, pastries).

Well there’s your educational lesson for a Monday morning!   Here’s to a happy healthy day. xx

 

 

 

Life is too short to finish anythi.......

27^th January 2013

Life is too short and unpredictable not to live it exactly as you please!

Yesterday a very special sparkly lady died, she was one of the many ladies I have met through Weight Watchers and one of the few that lived life to the full, taking every opportunity given to her and always with a smile on her face and had bought two beautiful daughters into this world to carry on her sparkle and trust me they’re doing a grand job.  When Kim told me last year that she had cancer I was devastated for her but hoping that with modern medicine she’d be okay, however it was soon made clear that it was terminal and they all embraced the time they had left.  Married for 34 years, only 51 years old - she hated peppers but loved Marmite ;-) and also had four gorgeous grandchildren.  Her sparkle may have faded yesterday but she left behind her shiny mark and I for one will miss her dearly.

This morning I’ve just been reminiscing with my mate Lynne about stuff, it started with food – as always!  We were trying to work out where it was we’d eaten and drooled over the table next to us eating their fish and chips whilst we were having something much lower in ProPoints!  It’s her birthday this weekend so we want the best fish and chip supper ever and that place is an option (it was the Malt Shovel at Chorley by the way).  We couldn’t believe how fast time flies, I got to goal a few months after Lynne gave birth to Jen!  So we’ve known each other since 2004 but only been ‘friends’ as such since February 4^th 2011!  It seems longer lol!

We’ve had some fun in those two years though, and lots and lots of giggles, you can’t beat finding someone on the same wavelength who’s in tune with your thoughts and even your body clock.  We’d both rather do lunch than go out at night, we love our Friday lunchtimes rather than Saturday nights clubbing – it’s an age thing.  I have other amazing friends but they’re younger than me and I can’t stay awake ;-).  The other good thing is me and Lynne do the same job so we can discuss that too without boring each other, cos let’s be honest no one enjoys listening to someone talking about their work lol.

So nine years ago Lynne was heavily pregnant and I was having my head shaved bald for charity then about to go on the holiday of my lifetime Whale Watching on the Baja California, I was also the heaviest I’d ever weighed in my life and it was the year I made major life changes and never looked back. 

The day after Jen was born I joined Weight Watchers for the last time, we both had such different lives back then and we still do now really but we just get on really well.  The major thing we have in common is a desire to giggle and not focus on the bad stuff in life, it’s all about food, drink & laughter or peace, love and lager – however you want to put it.

Sorry I’m reminiscing, you can go make a cuppa tea if it’s boring for you ;)

So realise that life happens, don’t put off anything you wished you could do!  If you have an ambition – do everything you can to achieve it, you may surprise yourself.  Your weight shouldn’t even come into it unless that ambition is fitness related in which case you’re weight will change as you train.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?  If you don’t try you’ll never know!   What would you do TODAY if you knew you were going to die tomorrow!  Do it!  If its food related though realise it’s highly unlikely you are going to die tomorrow so unless you’re happy with the consequences on the scales maybe think of something else!

I think I would go for a nice long walk, so that’s what I’ll do, I would drive to Cannock Chase but it’s vile out there, so I’ll just walk wherever Alfie takes me instead, it’s the fresh air I enjoy and the view and even if it’s a housing estate I’m walking round, I can always find something worth looking at if only the sky!

Sunday is typically a roast dinner day, nothing says ‘perfect Sunday’ better than a good old roast dinner so if you plan to do that, if cooking yourself maybe swap potatoes for roast butternut squash, or mash some into your potato, mmm or swede and potato mash.  Always choose the lean meat and of course pile your plate with veggies.  Don’t forgo those Yorkshire pudding the small ones are only 1pp each.  If you’re lucky enough to be going out for a carvery similar rules apply, check out that eat out guide.

My last day would also include a hot bubble bath, doughnuts, red wine, chocolate and blue cheese, plus Walkers cheese and onion crisps, a cuddle with my mom and a good film. 

Oh dear diet danger alert – about to have an end of the world day I think, so let’s ProPoint it;

Slice of toast with spread – 3pp

Jam Doughnut – 7pp

Galaxy 100g – 15pp

Walkers Cheese & Onion crisps – 4pp

Red wine – 19pp

St Agur Cheese & Crusty Cob – 12pp

Bubble Bath – zero ProPoints ;-)

Good Film – Zero ProPoints ;-)

Hug from mom – Priceless!

Total = 60pp

Cool that’s okay I can do that, 26pp from my allowance, 4pp earned from my activity and the other 30pp from my weeklies!  See we don’t have to wait till the end of the world, it’s all about balance, accountability and control!

Yay, I’m really looking forward to today now ;-) Hope yours is as enjoyable. xx

 

It's okay to be YOUnique!

January 26^th 2013

There is nobody else like you in the world and this is worth celebrating rather than searching for faults.

How true is that statement and how fantastic is it that you are a one off, truly unique – there is no one else like you in the entire universe – WOW, you’re awesome!

 

So is it time to stop comparing ourselves to others, it is human nature though isn’t it to do it, even though it doesn’t help in any way.  Better would be to accept ourselves, appreciate the special qualities we have and valuing our own uniqueness, that way we can focus of bringing out the best in ourselves rather than being preoccupied with meaningless comparisons. 

Now that’s the way to start the weekend, knowing you’re a truly individual amazing individual – feel better ;-)

I watched Celebrity Big Brother last night (I know it’s lame but I likes it) and it always makes me smile how angry and wound up people get by the characters in the house, this year it was Speidi, they really knew how to push folks buttons and I have to admit to being one of those people at times.  We never really know what’s going on in anyone’s mind do we, they were a prime example, I would love to be a fly on the wall in their home without them knowing just to get a glimpse of what they’re really like, but then I think to myself WHY?  Why do I need to know and why should I care?  Because it’s human nature to want to know things isn’t it, to be nosey, to be interested in others and to care.

Anyway moving on from the amazingness that is all of us, the suns only blooming shining this morning!   We had a late night and a lie in so both mom and I are feeling refreshed and I’m going to tackle the housework again – yes that is two weeks on the trot!  I had a lovely ‘me day’ yesterday, once I’d do the bit of work I needed to do I went out on my own shopping and stayed out all day, then finished it off with a massage (a birthday gift from my bestie Vicky – what a lovely pressie!)  We all need a bit of space sometimes don’t we and yesterday did me the world of good and this sun shining outside is only improving things.

I’m still on track with the plan, discovered Sainsbury’s flavoured popcorn in a multipack yesterday only 1pp per packet – bargain!  What ProPoints snack bargains to you indulge in, I also bought a large pack of Tyrells salted popcorn which worked out at 11pp and it made me realise when I looked at the weight on the packet and the size of the bag, just how many ProPoints are really in a Cineworld Large Sweet Popcorn – it has to be 40-50pp!  Scary stuff, that’s still 25pp each if you share!

Cooking a nice turkey dinner today with cauliflower, broccoli, little Actifry potato and carrots and gravy – nice, if I have any Yorkshires in freeze we shall have those too.  I didn’t even have a drink last night, that’s five days without a glass of wine, but I did treat myself to a wine decanter so I may need to try it out today to make sure it works!

This weekend will be in the praise of slow but also do, I’m going to get the house sorted, the dog walked, I’ve bought some bamboo knitting needles to have a go at knitting again, got me a bag of mohair wool for 50p so will just knit a square or a scarf depending on how far it will go!  I haven’t knitted for years and when I do it hurts my hands but as the massage lady said last night, use em or lose em and she was right, if I don’t do stuff they will get worse.

Ok, I need to get a wriggle on because of our lie in, Alfie is platting his legs and waiting for his walk, bless his heart.

Yeah today I’m feeling the love – I likes this mood ;-)

Have a fabulous day all. xx

 

Everyones got an opinion - this is mine!

25^th January 2013

People are like oceans, some parts are visible BUT most you can’t see, shallow pools of truth and deep pools of dark mysteries.

Mmm diets don’t they cause a lot of feeling, everyone has opinion on what works, what doesn’t, which is best, whether its worth the money, what the word diet actually means, how a diet works. 

Yes they really do cause controversy, I read lots about them and discuss the subject even more with other people (obviously in my line of work) somewhere yesterday I read that diets apparently teach you to feel guilty if you don’t stick to the rules!  NO they don’t ONLY YOU can make yourself feel guilty!  This person spoke of the ‘perfect dieter’, well in my opinion PERFECT is over-rated and what the definition would be of a perfect dieter is beyond me but I’m guessing it would differ from my thoughts.   

Weight loss is a very emotive subject isn’t it and everyone who wants to lose weight has their own reasons and no one has the right to judge them for those reasons, I have gone through the last two years not really caring about what I weigh, my weight has maintained more or less at a specific number and I’ve been okay with that.  It has however risen a little of the last few months thanks to various things and Christmas and now I’m watching what I eat/drink a little more because I would like to lose that weight for a number of reasons, one being I feel like I’ve become stagnant in my life – vicious cycle for me, I’m bored – I eat – I gain weight – I become inactive – I’m bored – I eat, etc, etc.

I’m not guilt tripping myself, or feeling bad about my body; my actions or my life and I encourage my members not to feel bad or guilty too!  We are human; we don’t always do what we planned to do because our emotions and our subconscious guide us in a different direction.  That doesn’t make us any less of a success, for me success consists of loving what is and taking care of that – you have to love yourself and your body because you can’t take care of something that you hate!

You can however want to feed that body good healthy food and nourish and cherish it.  Does that mean you shouldn’t eat the doughnut that’s passed round the office, does it heck, you enjoy it and eat is really slowly but make sure you catch that bit of jam that oozes out before it lands on your nice crisp white blouse ;-).   You are allowed to get pleasure from food, you are allowed to enjoy life and feel like a normal (whatever that is) human being!   I find good healthy food delicious when I can be bothered to make the effort and cook it!

But for me, I’d be happy with one doughnut, I wouldn’t want to indulge every day, and trust me when I worked in an office they came round everyday!  Why not?  Because I also enjoy walking the dog and getting in the clothes in my wardrobe in the morning and if I eat too much I gain weight, if I gain weight my back hurts and my clothes don’t fit – it’s a very simple equation!  I then end up unhappy – not because I’M OVERWEIGHT but because I’M IN PAIN and I CAN’T GET AROUND!  It’s not the fat that’s making me sad, it’s the fact I can’t live the life I enjoy living.  If you’re overweight and it doesn’t affect you, brilliant – carry on with your life if you’re happy but let me do something about mine.

For some lucky b******ds (I swear in real life but never quite like to type it on my blog) out there this eating/enjoying balance comes naturally, they partake in a bit of what they fancy, then at other times they forgo the excess.  And as just mentioned for some other lucky b******ds being overweight isn’t an issue, it doesn’t seem to affect their health or life in anyway.  I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE LUCKY FOLK!  I’m a different kind of LUCKY, I love excess, I enjoy extreme, I’m a glutton of life – my natural disposition is “I want it all and I want it NOW!”  I have however realised over the years that having that kind of personality leads to me not being in a good place!  In the past it has given me health problems from overeating, it has given me financial problems from overspending, and it’s also almost lost me my life a few times from falling off the edge of cliffs and hills and hitting trees after falling off my bike whilst looking for the thrill of life (& trying to keep up with a handsome marine with a nice bum on the bike in front)!  Luckily I never dabbled in drugs or who knows what may have happened there!  I’m an extreme person who’s spent the last 15 years trying to work out why and what I can do to calm that personality a little to help me live a happier less dangerous life and I think I’ve managed to.  I’m SO lucky to have realised this because I know others with a little more extreme version of my personality traits and it’s led them to a really, really dark place and even death! (overdose, alcoholism, heart attacks, strokes, accidents!)

So how did I get to where I am now, lots of things got me here, I read lots, I did workshops, I joined slimming clubs, I listened to others, I LEARNED!

Weight Watchers taught me lots from the nutritional value of food to how I could get a happy balance, their cook books even helped teach me to cook, along with Nigella and Jamie and a whole host of other cook books!  It gave me a system to help me gain control of my intake, I am quite a mathematical person so I liked the numbers and the fact it’s a bit like a bank account.  It also gave me friendship, some of the best people I know I met through Weight Watchers, and I now see a lot of them as my extended family.  And of course not forgetting it gave me a purpose, I was going to say job then but I already had one of those, I can and have earned a much larger salary elsewhere but I’ve never been so satisfied and fulfilled in my work as I am now at Weight Watchers.

I learned spending doesn’t make you happy for longer than the few moments you’re spending it – again that came from lots of different places, thank you to the MoneySavingExpert, and to my mom who was hard up when we were kids for reminding me we can live on a pittance and be happy.

I learned that doing, doing, doing, going here, doing this, going there, exploring, visiting, seeing doesn’t make you any happier than sitting round a table chatting with friends.  A man (can’t remember his name) on a weekend workshop said to me, “It’s no good keep climbing those mountains Bev, if you never stop to enjoy the view”, and he was so right, I now often sit and look through my photo albums and reminisce.

I learned that following your dreams and believing in yourself and your capabilities is possible – thank you Roy Martin for making me cry and helping me take that terrifying step from security into ‘who knows’ territory  back in July 2004, it paid of big style.

I learned that guilt sucks and is the most wasted emotion out there, so I binned it!  Who taught me that, oh so many people, big shout out here to Byron Katie and Louise Hay, truly inspirational women who have written great books.

I’ve learned that everyone thinks they’re the expert and they have the answer – actually they don’t! I’m the only expert in me and you’re the only expert in you, so these days when someone tells me or advises me on what I should be doing, I smile, say thanks and sieve that information, if there’s a gem of knowledge in there that works for me I take it, if it’s something that I’m not feeling or agreeing with – I bin it.  I suggest you do the same (but of course you’re more than welcome to disagree!)

I hope you got something from reading this because I got a whole lot from writing it, so with a happy tear in my eye, I’m off to make a cuppa and give my mom a hug because never forget she’s the reason I’m here at all.

Happy days all. xx

 

 

 

Finally my heads in gear & I'm on the plan - woo hoo!

24^th January 2013

One cannot help being old, but one can resist being aged. Lord Samuel

(11ProPoints earned yesterday - super big tea earned!)

Sometimes my blog doesn’t automatically post to Facebook, it’s something to do with the network blog thing I use, if you get up and it isn’t there, just go straight to my blog http://wwbevsworld.blogspot.co.uk/ I will almost certainly have done it or you can have it delivered directed to your email inbox by subscribing;

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So what a day yesterday, 185lb lost despite the snow, and a huge well done to everyone who got weighed, massive applause to Jane for achieving her 50lb certificate and Kathryn on her 75lb certificate, both doing so well.  Just shows what we can do when we set our mind to it!

Now what will the scales hold for me, yes I enjoyed my birthday and went a little OTT at the weekend, however since Monday I’ve been much better, yesterday was another good day, I earned 11pp on my pedometer, walked Alfie 90 minutes through the snow on the afternoon, and I was glad of them because my tea took me over my daily allowance.  I had crumpets for breakfast, one of those Sainsbury’s meals I featured the other day, the chorizo and manchego cheese crumble for 7pp, I added vegetables and mustard mash for an additional 4pp.  tea was a home made curry using the Asda basic curry sauce jar (8pp for the jar and only 26 pence), chicken and a handful of sultana’s, delicious for 8pp but I did add more mash instead of rice as it was cooked and I don’t like waste.

This morning I’m having crumpets with banana and honey on, it’s a suggestion in this week’s your week for a TV snack, but as I’m not snacking at the minute I thought I’d have it this morning.  I’m also not drinking which has saved me lots of ProPoints.  Yes I mean business at the moment, I want that stone gone for summer and I keep reminding myself of that fact every time I’m tempted.

Another inch of snow fell last night whilst I was at work, boo to the weather at the moment but thankful that we don’t have it as bad as some.  Please check on those elderly neighbours and clear ALL your car off not just the windscreen – I’ve seen some terrifying examples of bad drivers not clearing their car and also driving very badly!

I was going to make soup yesterday but never got round to it after our mammoth trek, so instead I’ve found a can of Heinz Scotch Broth which is 4pp for the can, I’m going to pop that in a flask and take it to work this morning as I start to get peckish about 11am and that will just hit the spot.  I’m even going to indulge in that mackerel today, it may be high but it will be delicious and as it’s the start of a new Weight Watcher week for me I have weeklies to play with, 16pp in half of it, I might have it with couscous for 3pp, that’ll be lush, or maybe bread and spread mmm, we shall see.  I have more curry to look forward to when I get home from work tonight either with rice or little square Actifry potatoes if I have the patience to wait! 

I had my first Actifry disaster yesterday, a potato and bean curry that just never cooked through just ended up really dried out and yuk, what a waste of paste and tins of chopped tomatoes – hey ho it’s all about experimenting!

Mmm I’ve just found this recipe, might have this tomorrow, sounds scrumptious.

BROCCOLI AND RICE SALAD
serves 6 – 11pp each (total 66pp)

This lunch will help you beat stress with the mix of the slow-releasing, low Gl factor of the rice and the folic acid in the broccoli.

400g brown rice (41pp)
800g  broccoli florets
lOOg sultanas (8pp)
ltbsp/15ml light soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime
ltsp honey (1pp)
100g sunflower seeds, toasted (16pp)

Method: Steam the rice according to the instructions on the packet. At the same time, steam the broccoli florets. Place the rice and the broccoli into a bowl and, whilst hot, pour over the remaining ingredients. Infuse all the ingredients together and leave to cool.

I also remembered an old favourite yesterday so will be putting this together to over the weekend I think as I just adore it (mmm wonder if I could do a smaller version of this in the Actifry?;

Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic Serves 4, 13pp each

2 tbsp regular olive oil                                                   8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in)

1 bunch (about 6) spring onions                                small bunch fresh thyme

40 garlic cloves (approx 3-4 bulbs), unpeeled         2 tbsp dry white wine

1½ tsp sea salt flakes or ¾ tsp pouring salt              Ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.  Heat the oil on the hob over a high heat in a wide, shallow, ovenproof and flameproof casserole (that will ultimately fit all the chicken in one layer, and that has a lid). Sear the chicken, skin-side down. This may take two batches, so transfer the browned pieces to a bowl as you go. Once the chicken pieces are seared, transfer them all to the bowl.

Finely slice the spring onions, put them into the casserole and quickly stir-fry them with the leaves torn from a few sprigs of thyme.  Put 20 of the unpeeled cloves of garlic (papery excess removed) into the casserole, top with the chicken pieces, skin-side up, then cover with the remaining 20 cloves of garlic.

Add the vermouth (or white wine) to any oily chicken juices left in the bowl. Swill it around and pour this into the casserole.  Sprinkle with the salt, grind over the pepper, and add a few more sprigs of thyme. Put on the lid and cook in the oven for 1½ hours.

Anyway I better get ready for work, long day Thursday. Take care, drive/walk safe Xx